Railroad-signal



0. H. JACKSON. Railroad Signals.

No. 230,418. V Patented July 27,1880.-

N- PEIE'RS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTUN. \VU- G UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEO CALEB HfJAoKsoN, OF HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILROAD-SIGNAL,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 230,418, dated July 27, 1880.

Application filed October 27, 1879.

To all 'LlJhONl it may concern:

Be it known that I. CALEB JACKSON, of Harrisburg, county ofDauphin, State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered a new and useful Improvement in Signal-Posts and Signals: and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, concise, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, makinga part of this specification, in which-like letters indicating like parts- Figure 1 a view, in perspective, of my improved signal-post and its immediate connections. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section thereof; and Fig. 3 is a cross-section, to an enlarged scale, of the post itself.

The growth of the railway interests in this country is necessitating the adoption by railway-lines of systems of signaling which require the use of comparatively tall posts for the display of signals. These must be made strong, of durable material, preferably light in structure, cheap in first cost, hollow, so as to afford adequate protection to the signal-rod connections, and of such construction that the signals may be operated readily and with certainty, and be easily accessible.

To these ends I have devised a post which is composed of three or more (preferably four) upright bars of T-iron riveted or bolted by the flanges of the. T-head to the flat bearing sides of interior rings, so as to make what is mechanically a hollow open-sided support for the signals andconnecting-rods. Thepostis firmly secured on any suitable base, and has at its top a suitable cap and bracket for carrying the signals. The flanges of the T-bars afford a convenient means for the addition of ladderrounds, so that the switchman can have ready means of access to the switch-lights for lighting, trimming, c.

The post P, as shown, is made up of four T- bars, a a, secured together by beingriveted or bolted to the four diagonally opposite flat sides of each of a series of octagonal rings, b, in any desired number, say, from two to four feet apart, more or less, varying with the stiffness or rigidity of the bars, the height of the post, the weight of the siguals,'&c., such features being governed by the well-known rules relating to strength of materials under known conditions of use. The size of the post or the space inclosed by the rings should also be regulated in part by the same considerations; but it should at least be large enough for the convenient working of the connecting-rod c, (or several rods, where rt-quired,) by which the signal is to be operated. It is also important that the space between the edges of the T-bars be considerable, in order that workmen may have ready access with their-hands or tools to the connecting-rod c in fitting them up, or for pur poses of repairs, and the presence of such comparatively broad spaces, alternating with. the upright T-bars, renders the post open-sided, as I term it, and distinguishes this post from any othersimilarly-constructed postnowknown to me. The post thus made is to be mounted on any suitable base or foundation, B, by the use of a flanged tubular socket-piece, B, or in other known way of making such connect-ion. To the top of the post I secure by rivets or bolts a U-shaped cap-piece, A, which cap-piece is of convenient size and form for carrying and displaying one or more of the fixed or mova ble signals.

In the style of signaling which I prefer to employ, fixed white or other safety signals D, one or more, made of suitable opaque material, are attached to one end of A, and transverse to the line of vision. In the other end of A, I mount a rocking shaft, (1, and rigidly secure to this one or a pair of swinging danger or cautionary signals, D, made of colored glass, preferably lenses. In a suitable bracket or supportin g-plate, e, I attach a signal-lantern, E, showing a white light.- The relationship .of D, D, andE is such that D may be shifted in position so as to stand out directlyin front,

of E, (as regards the line of vision,) in which case, being colored, it would be a danger-signal both by day and (the lamp being lighted) by night; or it may be swung back of D, in which case it would be concealed from view, so that D would give a safety-signal by day andE by night; and these motions are imparted to D by a crank-arm, d, on the rock-shaft d, its outer end being jointed to the connecting-rod c. For giving to the rod 0 the proper motion the usual bell-crank 0 may be employed.

The T-bars a give me an excellent means of making a ladder, which is necessary for convenient access to the lantern. Iron rods, cut to the proper length. are bent. flattened, and punched at the ends, so as to form ladderrounds s, convenient in form for being riveted or bolted at the proper distances apart to the flanges of two of the T-bars. In this way an excellent ladder is provided at small expense.

The number of T-bars may be increased or lessened to three or more by varying the shape of the rings b and so spacing the flat bearing parts of said rings that the T-bars, when riveted or bolted by their flat T-heads thereto,

' shall be at equal, or nearly equal, and considerable distances apart. No change need be may be slightly hollowed out in the last rolling pass, the better to prepare them for the purpose in view.

The signals D D may be of any desired shape, and they may be used in pairs, as shown, or singly when a signal is required to be displayed in only one direction.

I claim herein as my in'vention As a signal-post attachment, the combination of cap-piece A, fixed safety-signal D, and swinging danger-signal D, the latter being adapted to be shifted from in front of a fixed light to the rear of the safety-signal Dand back at pleasure, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CALEB H. JACKSON.

Witnesses:

R. H. WHITTLESEY, U. L. PARKER. 

